Make For Good: Gifts With Meaning:

Etsy.com, the online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, is once again harnessing the creative talent of its community of makers, designers and curators across Australia and New Zealand to Make For Good.

Etsy - and its local creative community - has partnered with Plan International Australia for a second year to help raise funds for Plan’s Because I Am A Girl campaign through a product range (on sale from today) that reflects the theme of ‘creating brighter futures for girls around the world’.

The bespoke products, created by hundreds of Etsy sellers around Australia and New Zealand, are inspired by the Because I Am A Girl campaign and its mission to empower girls worldwide. From one-of-a-kind jewellery and bespoke artworks to homewares, beauty products, and children’s toys, the collection reflects the diverse talents of Etsy’s creative community in Australia and their collective motivation to help educate and empower girls and work to end poverty.

Participating makers will donate at least 20 per cent of revenue from the sale of their Make For Good products while Etsy will donate the commission on those sales to Because I Am A Girl. All funds raised will support projects that help promote the equal rights of all children, helping lift girls around the world - and their entire communities - out of poverty.

Last year’s campaign - an Etsy and Plan Australia first - raised more than $30,000, helping hundreds of girls and young women in some of the world’s poorest communities learn new skills and get access to support and opportunities.

This year, the campaign will be contributing to an economic empowerment program that aims to provide skills training for 360 young women in Sri Lanka, as well as entrepreneurship training and seed funding for business start-ups for 100 young women. The effect this will have on the lives of these women is immeasurable, and will create a lasting change not only in their lives, but in their communities.

Some of the items for sale include:

This Resin Vase by ResinatingByMaria, which will add a pop of colour to any room you decide to add it to:

Etsy’s Managing Director for Australia & Asia Helen Souness said the overwhelming response from Etsy’s local seller community to last year’s Make For Good campaign highlighted how community minded the creative entrepreneurs on Etsy’s platform in Australia really are.

“We were delighted by the passion our local seller community showed for this project in 2015 and so proud of what they were able to achieve,” Ms Souness said. “At Etsy, our mission is to reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world so we’re so excited to be working with Plan International and with our local community of Etsy sellers once again to create meaningful products designed to make a real difference in the world,” she said.

Plan International Australia CEO Ian Wishart said the makers will be making a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of women and girls worldwide.

“Etsy makers are well known for their creativity, the care and quality of their work and the wow factor of their products. Through Make for Good, hundreds of makers are now also known for their generosity and passion for improving life for the world’s most disadvantaged girls and women,” Mr Wishart said.

“If we want to end poverty in our lifetime, we must release the potential of all women and that begins by empowering them to support themselves and their families. When a woman earns a steady and fair income, she will invest 90 per cent back into her family, breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage.

“Make for Good is about changing the world for girls and their families, one economic empowerment program at a time. We can’t think of a better cause than that.”